19 States to Boost Minimum Wage in 2026

 With the new year comes a round of wage increases.

McDonald's Locks Dining Room for Safety

I attended high school at the former West High in Uptown Minneapolis, about three blocks from the current McDonald's location. It was a calm, walkable neighborhood back then. Also suitable for drag racing up and down Lake Street.

Uptown Minneapolis McDonald's locks doors to keep out crime

Maze on NOA and McPrices

McDonald's makes big change to franchise relationship

Babylon Bee Awards Funniest Webposting of 2025

McDonald's CEO delivers blunt career advice

Will McDonald's Succeed Where BK Fails?

In July, we discussed a new McDonald's location in Virginia that is a failed Burger King. Now we find another one near Dayton, Ohio. A commercial real estate broker talks naive BK people into sites, and now a different broker (?) talks naive MCD execs into the same sites.

New McDonald's could open at Beavercreek - Dayton Daily News

As we discussed in July

Slowly But Surely - Here They Come

 In-N-Out announces expansion - MSN

McDonald's Netherlands Pulls Anti-Christmas Ad

While much of the press coverage has focused on using AI to produce commercials, the real issue is that McDonald's Corporate can allow the production and distribution of a commercial that could be offensive to millions of people around the globe.

The Guardian: McDonald's removes AI-generated ad after backlash

Or does McDonald's Corp want to be involved in this kind of thing?

Anti-Christian attacks surge across Europe - Fox News

Christmas at McDonald's Under PJB

Most advertising people are counter-culture and, as such, many are anti-religion, but I never thought it would show up in a McDonald's TV commercial.

Bleak McDonald's ad declares Christmas "Terrible"

Maze and McDonald's Strange Year

Monday was spent discussing "price fixing". That's not a term franchisees should toss around. I spent some time fiddling with other ways to describe what's going on in McDonald's, using terms like "price dictation." Better, but not adequate. Leave it to our favorite wordsmith, Jonathan Maze, to find the right word. He used "Oversight". Of course, as a journalist, he can't accuse anyone of price fixing, so he needed another term. 

"Pricing Oversight" means all parties are studying the issue without making 

accusations. Franchisees can always use the term "Price Fixing" later.

The story of McDonald's strange year - in two parts

Cannibalization in the New Year

 'Tis the time of year that business managers and owners tighten up their sales projections for the approaching new year.

For most retail and restaurants, this means looking back on the year ending period by period, reflecting on advertising, promotions, what worked and what didn't, and of course, the weather. All this might tell them something about the future.

But McDonald's Owners have a more difficult task as 2025 ends, due to a vast unknown - the potential damage caused by new McDonald's stores.

No one knows how many new USA stores might be opened in 2026. A few hundred might make sense. Any number nearing 1,000 would be insanity.

The smaller number would only impact a limited number of existing stores. A larger number would eliminate any hope of positive same-store sales nationally in 2026 and beyond. And we know who pays the price when same-store sales are soft.

When I say no one knows how many new stores will be opened, I mean NO ONE. The corporation lacks the systemic memory needed to locate and open worthwhile restaurants. As Anonymous disclosed, they are relying on commercial real estate brokers who have no skin in the game (except for their commission). Local governments have gotten tougher than ever, especially on drive-thrus. They don't seem to mind when a brand is adding a new outlet to restaurant row, but when a new restaurant is proposed in virgin territory, the locals turn out with pitchforks. 

So when PJB and his crew can say they are going to build new at Main St and Main Ave., they are going to get a lot of surprises. Some nearby Owner/Operators will be disappointed, some will be thrilled that they might not be impacted.

That's why 2026 projections are difficult. No one knows how many new stores will open in the next few years, regardless of what PJB told President Trump at their recent meeting. Neither of them knows anything about locating new McDonald's stores.

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Sub Par Margins

Subway's loyalty "Sub Club" a loser for franchisees

Ending the Year on a Flippant Note

Meet your new business advisor - Mr. Hunter Biden!

One of America's leading cokeheads hallucinates about what it's like to run a McDonald's

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Fun with organized labor - These McDonald's employees have been striking because the Oakland, CA McDonald's they work at is set to close soon. What good is a strike if the business won't be there next week? This is simply a union publicity stunt. It gets humorous when the strikers expect another McDonald's to hire them.

Employees strike against the Oakland McDonald's that is scheduled to close.

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I wish it were possible to own a local business and also be involved in electoral politics, but in North Carolina...

Protestors to boycott McDonald's operated by Congressman and Owner/Operator Chuck Edwards 

Big Beautiful Tax Changes?

Changes affecting restaurants in 2025 tax returns - NRN

Take It Easy

I find the meme about the Arizona Meteor Crater especially funny because I've been there 15 or 20 times. A big chunk of my time with McDonald's corporate was spent visiting and opening new stores in dusty western towns along the freeways in Arizona and New Mexico. The crater was a good place to stop, stretch your legs, and refill the thermos. Or, if I had a traveling partner, they always wanted to see the crater.

So, yeah, that was me standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.

Wall Street Doesn't Like Restaurants

Investors know what corporate managements won't admit - there are too many restaurants - RestBus

Safe From Joint Employer for Three Years

There are still too many franchise owners who think that Joint Employer would be cool because it would increase the corporate franchisors' responsibilities. The truth is, it would destroy the entire concept of franchiseing.

Trump mentioned it in Monday's speech, and Larry Kudlow follows up here:

Fox Business - Larry Kudlow and SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler

How Many New Stores?

President Trump said he had been told that PJB intended to open 900 new McDonald's locations in the USA over the next two years. Trump said, "How about you double that?".

Imagine the damage 900 new stores will do to the domestic system; now imagine the devastation 1,800 new stores would do.

President's Trump's Speech to McDonald's Owner/Operators

Impact Summit 2025 - C-SPAN video 

Maze on Share Repurchases

Jonathan Maze offers a primer on share repurchases in restaurant companies. Keep in mind that with many, if not most, chains, the franchisee controls the real estate. Those companies do not have the leverage to force the franchisee into constant remodeling.

Franchisors should put the brakes on share buybacks - RestBus

Awarding: World's Ugliest McDonald's - 2025

2025 Winner - McKinney. Texas

Red Cup Day is now Red Mayor Day

Zohran Mamdani wants you to boycott Starbucks

Seattle Mayor-elect joins striking baristas

From Babylon Bee

Banks Now Requiring Your Grandkids To Co-Sign Your 50-Year Mortgage

Five Guys is offering 50-year burger financing

DoorDash Introduces the "Cheesburger Index"

FOX News article - (ignore video)

DoorDash press release

Future Headlines

Just got back from a trip in our Fast Forward Machine to the year 2028. The most interesting headline in that year will be:

"McDonald's to Close Hundreds of U.S. Stores in Latest Turnaround Effort"

Who Was it That Said There Are Too Many Restaurants?

Wendy's to close 300 stores (+/-) nationwide - USA Today

Outback Steakhouse to close dozens of restaurants

SEIU Plans Major Strike Against Starbucks

Starbucks says the union represents around 9,500 workers, or 4% of its cafe workforce

McDonald's and Low-Income Customers

McDonald's Struggling to hold onto low-income customers - WaPo

PJB worries about low-income people as he rides around in his limousine.

Seeking Alpha Summary of MCD Ananlyst's Call

A summary of the analyst's questions is included in this article.

MCD Third Qaurter Results

McDonald's Third Quarter Results - Press Release

"We're fueling momentum by delivering everyday value and affordability, menu innovation, and compelling marketing that continue to bring customers through our doors." - PJB

 

SNAP Suffering - parody

Snap Beneficiaries Wishing There Were Some Way They Could Trade Their Labor and Services for Money To Buy Food

Quick Preview of MCD Earnings Report on Weds.

“If MCD can effectively grow loyalty member sales from $30 billion in 2024 to a 50% increase to $45 billion in 2027, it would serve as a strong indicator that its AI-powered marketing initiatives are paying off. This would not only benefit franchisees, but it would also benefit MCD's bottom line as well.”

McDigital loyalty program in focus - SeekingAlpha

Trick or Treat at the White House

If POTUS can't go to McDonald's - bring McDonald's to him - VIDEO

CFA Launchs New Beverage Concept: daybright

 

          Good luck keeping Chick-fil-A service times - look at that menu!

Burger King Learns Its Lesson

Maze writes: "And straight discounts simply don’t work these days, not in the face of so many value offers. Also, profitability matters."  

Burger King's shift in attitude has helped it outperform its rivals

Are McDonald's Owners Making Up for the Shutdown?

Gamers - I'd like to buy the world a Meal and wreck the company

"McDonald's Monopoly game has become an exasperating mess"

1970s Coca-Cola commercial - 55 years ago

Starbucks: Better Service = Improved Sales

Other chains just keep adding to the menu, expecting better sales

White Castle Gets Modern

 

Does this building look familiar? Sure, it does. It could be a Taco Bell, a McDonald's, or most any modern QSR. It seems the different chains are all building an interchangeable building that could be converted to any brand if the original restaurant doesn't work out. On this one, all they'd have to do is change the signage, take down those metal trim pieces on the roof, and you're ready to serve Whoppers.

Castle of Tomorrow - QSR magazine

Who Would do Business With These People?

                Disney parks down 26% over five years - Breitbart

Four Free Bags of Food

I usually ignore the "Free food at McDonald's" internet posts, but this one looks interesting. I assume the game geniuses and McDonald's corporate folks told Owner/Operators this kind of thing would be infrequent. 

Food Hack - Trying the kiosk trick at McDonald's

MCD Pays Another Qarterly Dividend

"McDonald's said it has raised its dividend for 49 straight years. In September of last year, the dividend was raised to $1.77 per share from $1.67."

MCD BOD declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.86 - Dow Jones

A Year Already?

Trump celebrates one year since he served as a McDonald's employee.

Maze - Opinion - Fast Food Results

A lot of effort, without a lot of results: RestBusOnline

Restaurant Owners - Inflation Forcing Tough Menu Choices

FOX News - the $17 egg sandwich? 

Taco Bell Again Fastest Drive-Thru

QSR magazine talks with Taco Bell executives            

QSR Drive-Thru report

Like I Said - Too Many Restaurants

 Jonathan Maze on X

@jonathanmaze

Oct 15

"Restaurants are on pace for more than 40,000 limited-time offers this year, which would be more than double the number in 2022 and would be a record, for the third straight year, per @technomic.

Brands need sales and traffic and social media is pushing innovation."

Simple - Whether you're selling widgets or hamburgers, oversupply means prices drop.

Stick a Fork in Beyond Meat

Shares drop below $1.00 on investor concerns - AP

Speaking of Attorney Zarco

The American Association of Franchisees and Dealers (AAFD) has published a sixteen-minute interview with Attorney Robert Zarco. It's very informative.

AAFD interview with Robert Zarco - YouTube

Also, if you haven't visited, the website of Zarco Einhorn Salkowski has a terrific video center that addresses numerous discussions about franchise legal matters. They are informal and fairly brief.

Zarco Law video center 

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Don't miss the Anonymous Comments on the Subway Article

Zarco on Subway remodel fight

Latest From Maze @ Restaurant Business

Did McDonald's Price Cuts Work? It's Complicated

Wendy's ... new plan represents a shift away from aggressive unit growth to building sales and profitability at its existing restaurants

Zarco on the Subway Remodel Fight

Franchise Times magazine - Oct 2025

"Subway has imposed a non-negotiable remodel timeline that treats franchisees not as business partners, but as corporate ATMs,” the franchisee association said in a statement.

The Massive Expansion of McDonald's

There will always be population migration (ask any homebuilder), but does that mean you build early and let the Owner/Operator suffer the losses in the early years?

Bloomberg reports with some shaky but interesting data - video

Who Owns McDonald's?

MCD corporate insiders own less than one percent of shares - Yahoo

Institutions - 74%

In A While McCrocodile

Twelve-foot dinosaur shuts down McDonald's drive-thru

Poultry in Motion

Wendy's tendys makes its debut in the chicken tenders game - USA Today

Tendys?

 

Wendy's Tendys makes its debut in the chicken tenders game - USA Today

PJB's CosMcs Alredy Putting the Hurt on Starbucks?

 Starbucks - significant store closures and layoffs

Subway Rebellion

Subway Franchisees Push Back on Reinvestment - RestBusOnline  

R.I.P Michael Quinlan - Former MCD CEO

ChiTrib article - 9/26/2025

Obituary - Sullivan Funeral Home

PJB Desperately Seeking More McKinsey

Emily Reasor joins McDonald's Star Chamber.

 “One former McKinsey consultant wrote anonymously, ¨To those convinced that a secretive cabal controls the world, the usual suspect are Illuminati, Lizard People, or ´globalists.' They are wrong, naturally. There is no secret society shaping every major decision and determining the direction of human history. There is, however, McKinsey & Company.”

― Walt Bogdanich, "When McKinsey Comes to Town"

PJB nad His Strange Bedfellows

Jonathan Maze goes in-depth on why PJB has taken on the tip wage issue at this time. The answer? PJB is always looking for an opportunity to leverage the McDonald's brand to play politics and get his name on an issue.

Let's hope he doesn't waste system resources or distract Owner/Operators from important issues.

But then we can always expect a democrat to side with organized labor

.

Mize Merges

Business advisory and accounting firm, Aprio, today announced it has entered into agreements to acquire Mize CPAs Inc. (“Mize”), Midwest-based accounting and advisory firm for entrepreneurs and McDonald’s Owner/Operators

Coffee Prices

U.S. Coffee prices soar at the supermarket - Dailycoffee

McDonald’s Commits $200m to Regenerative Agriculture Initiative

"Contributions to the initiative come from various McDonald's USA suppliers. These include Cargill, Golden State Foods, Lopez Foods, OSI, and The Coca-Cola Company, which will provide funds to the NFWF and McDonald's US."

All will pass on the cost of this initiative to their franchisee customers.

McDonald's USA has announced its largest investment in regenerative agriculture - Global Data

The Rise and Fall of America's Biggest Restaurant Chain

What went wrong? - The Daily Meal

Supply and Demand - Part Deux

Answer to everything? ... Build more stores!

"The industry’s constant push for unit growth, however, can also be its undoing, because it’s putting a growing amount of pressure on individual locations. Industry profitability remains down, on average, since the pandemic. Franchisee profitability is down, too. And all this has been during a period of generally strong economic growth." - Jonathan Maze

The average restaurant gets a lot fewer customers than it did in 2019 - RBonline

Simple Supply and Demand

September was dominated by hand-wringing over same-store sales at QSRs. Yet no one in the industry or the press wants to discuss the real problem:

There are just too many quick-service restaurants.

Franchisees, investors, Wall Street analysts and corporate suits all delude themselves that the marketplace is infinite. It's not, it's full. And yet private equity firms buy up small chains with plans for rapid expansion, and McDonald's plans to open hundreds of new stores in the USA.

McDonald's franchisee profitability has taken a hit - Maze

McDonald's Corp Exits National Restaurant Association

McDonald's sides with organized labor - Restaurant Dive

PJB "As He Slashes Prices on Value Meals"

Told CNBC anchors that the move toward more value was "almost unanimous" among franchisees

Is This Old News?

I don't pay attention to "the app," so hopefully this is old news to McDonald's Owners and the issues have been resolved. 

He hacked McDonald's and found flaws.

The Cyber Express August 2025

Cracker Barrel Confusion

Spend 56 years developing a niche brand and then hire a D.E.I.  CEO who sets out to modernize the brand and look at what happens. Remember when the pajama boy regime tried to do this to McDonald's?

Cracker Barrel scraps new logo design - Fox News

Is Ten Years a Decade or a Century?

McDonald's CEO celebrates ten years with the company

Pajama Boy Knows Best

Today's Wall Street Journal article on McDonald's price fixing starts off with this headline:

"McDonald's to cut combo meal prices after convincing franchisees"

Reuters issues some preliminary coverage of the WSJ article.

Comment on Q3 Conference Call

Anonymous made a comment about analyst's questions on the recent McDonald's conference call with analysts.

"Most of them seem more interested in cheerleading than challenging the narrative."

They were softball questions, weren't they?

The truth is that analysts aren't here to tell management how to run the company. I'm sure only a few of them have any restaurant experience or skills. They are financial people who create expectations and try to explain why these expectations are or aren't met. However, that expectation is limited to the numerical results that have been released. An analyst rarely digs into internal matters such as morale or corporate organization. Or management's operational competence.

One exception to this was the last three years of McDonald's CEO Jack Greenberg's regime. Tired of being lied to, the analysts became outspoken about the need for some turnover.

But on this particular call, the results released by McHQ were an improvement over recent quarters, and the CEO went from zero to hero.

Owner/Operators should listen to these quarterly calls based on the theory that O/Os can tell a lot about the future of their business by listening to the discussion of corporate plans.

And, trends in analysts' comments and questions reveal a great deal about the future. With this Chicago regime, they are the tail being wagged by Wall Street's dog.

But don't expect a cage match with the CEO. The analysts will always be courteous and professional, no matter what they write in their reports.

The tough questions must come from the Owner/Operators.

Top Notch Commercial !!!

Congratulations to whoever put together the new McDonaldand commercials. The graphic quality is terrific. I first noticed it as a small image on my phone but the quality also shows up on broadcast television.

It's great to see Ronald back on the job.

McDonaldland meal driving repeat visits - NRN

Eroding Your Equity

* The only thing that gives your franchise business any resale value is the stability of the franchise agreement.

* If you sell a franchise agreement that has  XX years left to run, your buyer must be sure that that agreement won't be changed or "renegotiated".

* In any contract renegotiations, there is a winner and a loser, and with a powerful franchise company, the corporation always wins. 

* Anytime a franchisee is asked to change the terms or the application of those terms, they are damaging the future value of that franchise.

* A franchise agreement that's constantly changing and renegotiated eventually becomes worthless.

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Memories of Beanie Babies

McDonald's Japan overwhelmed by Pokémon promo

Price Fixing?

Once upon a time, McDonald's Corp. was concerned with the legality of dictating menu prices to franchisees. To the point that direction came down from corporate legal that company (MCD) employees should not be involved in menu price discussions with franchisees. Legal said that, if, in a Co-Op meeting, franchisees were discussing a menu price promotion, the MCD employees should leave the meeting.

Of course, this was widely ignored in the field. It was especially impractical because at the time, something  like 20% of USA stores were operated by McOpCo. Deep discounting made a major dent in corporate profits.

McDonald's Corp Q2 Earnings Call Transcript

August 06, 2025 - provided by Seeking Alpha

Customers Spending More, MCD Stock Rises

Global comp sales up 3.8%, USA up 2.5% - Morningstar

Due to Weak Jobs Report Trump Goes Back to Old Job

The best in fake news from The Babylon Bee

McDonald's USA Q2 - 2025 Sales Up 2.5%

 Corp says comp sales driven by positive check growth

What's in the McNews?

If one owns a franchise granted by a publicly held company, you can gain a better understanding of where the company is going by paying attention to what management tells their shareholders, by way of their communications with Wall Street analysts.

On Wednesday, Aug 6, McDonald's management will release Q2-2025 results and conduct a conference call with interested analysts. These calls usually last a little over an hour.

WEBCAST link is here - begins at 8:30 AM EST

MCD earnings - Here's what to expect - Yahoo Finance

Acceleration of the Arches: A Progress Report

 Those ones who hold a franchise with a major public company can learn tons about the corproate plans when you can listen in thei ther disclusoure to shareholder conference calls by

 McDonald's Q2 2025 Earnings Conference Call

Additional Information

MCD Among 11 Best Income Stocks to Buy

 McDonald's remains a leading income stock

This photo often appears alongside articles about McDonald's. I haven't worked a McDonald's grill in a while, but I don't think this is how things are done (or ever). It looks more like the factory step before 7-11 cheeseburgers are wrapped in clear plastic.

 

Joe ErlingerJoe Erlinger   • 2ndVerified • 2ndPresident, McDonald's USA at McDonald'sPresident, McDonald's USA at McDonald's1mo • 1 month ago • Visible to anyone on or off LinkedIn

This past weekend, I had the privilege of participating in the Chicago Pride Parade – something I look forward to joining in on every year, standing alongside the LGBTQ+ community here in our hometown. While this is the fourth year I've been part of the parade with other members of my leadership team, the collective energy never ceases to amaze me.

Our success at McDonald's largely depends on our ability to create an environment where all employees feel included, respected, and safe in bringing their whole selves to work. Celebrating our differences and respecting diverse perspectives creates a sense of belonging and allows us to better meet the needs of our customers.

I’m proud to walk together with our employees this month and every month – the pride, authenticity, and courage of this community is inspiring.

Activate to view larger image,